TOP Analysis, Prognoses and News about Greek - Albanian Relations and the Region.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Details of Ashton’s proposal on Serb municipalities

Source: B92, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- EU High Representative Catherine Ashton
offered a concept of a community of Serb municipalities without
executive powers during the seventh round of the talks.

Hashim Thaci, Catherine Ashton and Ivica Dačić (Beta, file)

According to her proposal, the community of Serb municipalities could only have executive powers if Priština allowed it.
However, Belgrade rejected the proposal.

Ashton allegedly offered the eight-point document to Serbian PM Ivica
Dačić during the last round of the negotiations on March 20 in Brussels.
In the document, the community of Serb municipalities is called
“association”.

The alleged proposal, that has been released by
the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), is identical to a document that
was released by daily Blic on Tuesday. It is stated that Belgrade was
offered “superficial principles that only paraphrase the Ahtisaari
plan”.

Daily Politika also released the document on Saturday,
stating that an unacceptable paper was on the table in Brussels on March
20.

The daily wrote that the “association” of municipalities
with majority Serb population would be formed and that it would have its
own statute and structure based on a modality contained in the existing
statute of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities.

Belgrade
rejected the offer and First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić stated at a
government session on Thursday, a day after the seventh round of the
dialogue, that the proposal was unacceptable to Serbia.

“All of
you, cabinet members, are aware that we are - and to what extent we are
dedicated to getting a date (for the start of EU membership talks) and
to EU integrations. I will read to you a part of the proposal we
received and the only thing I can say is that, unfortunately, nobody
except us was prepared to make any concessions or compromises, which
gave us absolutely no chance to accept what had been offered," Vučić
said at the time.

The continuation of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue is scheduled for April 2.

The second deal on Cyprus reached at the weekend is another bank robbery
covered with a fig leaf: It does not repair the damage done by the
first deal, which is irreparable, but de facto puts Cyprus out of the
Eurozone while claiming to have "saved" its membership in the euro, and
is prelude to more bank robberies in Euroland.

The whole thing
has accelerated the disintegration of the euro system. As the former
Central Bank Governor of Cyprus Athanasios Orphanides, told the Financial Times on March 23 "the
European project is crashing to Earth. This is a fundamental change in
the dynamics of Europe towards disintegration and I don't see how this
can be reversed."

"We have seen a cavalier attitude towards the expropriation of property and the bullying of a people," Orphanides said.

The new deal over Cyprus has
lifted the levy on bank deposits up to EU100,000 Euros (the fig leaf),
but it is going to extract up to 40% on larger deposits, as part of the
liquidation of Laiki bank (Cyprus Popular Bank).

There is a geopolitical aspect in this.

According
to Bloomberg, one-third of all the money deposited in Cyprus banks is
owned by Russian nationals. Most of the deposits larger than EU100,000
are Russian. This is because Russian firms have used Cyprus as financial
basis for their commercial operations, due to its very low tax regime
(similar to Ireland, for instance). Thus, Cyprus has become the third
largest "foreign" investor in Russia. By deciding to put most of large
deposits into the "bad bank" part of the liquidated Laiki bank, the
Troika has consciously targeted Russian investors.

This explains
enraged reactions from Russian leaders, from Prime Minister Medvedev to
economist Sergei Glazyev (see slug). That Russian investors are the big
losers, and that the targeting of Russia was no innocent choice or just
an objective result of an "equal" correction of the deal, is shown by
the central role played by the British government. On March 23, a
high-level British team was flown into Cyprus to "advise" on the terms
of the deal. The team was led by U.K. Treasury mandarin Tom Scholar, who
is the Treasury's second permanent secretary and the official who
managed the bailouts of Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland, and
Lloyds Banking Group. We know how those bailouts ended up: The banks
were nationalized and the entire speculative debt was backed up by
British taxpayers.

It is not to be excluded that the anti-Russian
gambit was an aspect deliberately pushed by the City of London
gamemasters, in the context of the British Empire's overall anti-Russian
policy at strategic level. British-controlled or pro-British media are
the ones who have created the image of Cyprus as a "money-laundering"
base, characterizing Russian investments
as "mafia" money. This has provided a "moral" justification for the
Troika decisions. In reality, Cyprus has not been a money-launderer any
more than other offshore financial centers, such as British Isle of Man
or the City itself. And speaking of an "overblown" financial sector
relative to GDP, Cyprus with its 8:1 ratio is way behind Luxembourg,
which has a 24:1 ratio! In this context, the sudden death of fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky on March 23 in London, is seen by someone as "the first victim of the Cyprus crisis."

Another big lie pushed by the Troika is that the new deal
represents an "Icelandic solution" for Cyprus. This is a totally
superficial and deeply wrong comparison. First, Iceland had its own
national currency and could devalue it. An Icelandic solution for Cyprus would be a return to a national currency.
But that is exactly what the Troika wanted to prevent. Secondly,
Iceland separated the domestic debt from the foreign debt. De facto,
this was a separation between a debt somehow linked to the real economy
and a fictitious financial debt. For Cyprus this would mean to separate a fictitious debt related to the EU bubble carry trade from London and other places into insolvent Greek bonds, for instance from the commercial debt.
Most of Russian investors' money would probably fall into the second
category. The Cyprus deal consists in refinancing the rotten debt,
liquidating one bank (Laiki) at the expense of Russian investors, and
keeping one bank (Bank of Cyprus) alive with revenues from the bank
robbery. At these conditions, the Troika will guarantee a EU10 billion
loan which will be used to refund foreign lenders in the Eurozone.

However,
since the damage has been already done, and nobody feels any longer
that his money is secure in any bank, Cyprus will introduce capital
controls in the attempt to prevent capital flight. This will de facto
establish a second-class "euro" currency in Cyprus, a currency you can get into, but you cannot get out of. And will not prevent capital flight anyway.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The successful promotion in Russia of the island ofCrete
as a holiday destination may result in a 30 pct surge in Russian
tourists this summer, according to tourism officials. Returning from the
Moscow tourism fair MITT 2013, vice-prefect of Crete and head of the delegation Evripidis Koukiadakis said that:

"Crete was promoted in a unified way in the Russian market and internationally. The increase of Russian tourists visiting Crete is expected to exceed 30 pct this year."

Similar evaluations were also made by the presidents of travel agents and hoteliers on the island, respectively.

While
in Russia, delegates met with Russian tourism officials, mass media and
local religious leaders, including the bishop of Moscow.

Thaci: Position of Kosovo and U.S "identical"

Source: Beta

PRIŠTINA -- Hashim Thaci said on Monday that the
seventh round of his Brussels negotiations with Ivica Dačić had been a
"marathon" session.

(Beta, file)

He
added that "he had voiced the intention to move forward" and stressed
that "the positions of Kosovo and the U.S. were identical."
Thaci
told a session of the Kosovo government that "Kosovo's stances were
very clear and that they reflected full adherence to the constitution,
local government legislation, the Martti Ahtisaari plan and the highest
European Union standards", Beta is reporting.

"It was a good
opportunity to move forward toward an end or reaching agreement, in
order to go from the stage of the age-old confrontation between Kosovo
and Serbia to a new stage of good neighborly relations and cooperation,"
Thaci said.

The head of the government in Priština also
"voiced the hope that a chance for that had not been lost and that it
would be set right on April 2."

According to him, Priština's
position in Brussels had been and continued to be "completely in line
with the positions of the U.S., EU and NATO."

Thaci said that,
if a deal was reached, "the institutions of Kosovo, EULEX and NATO would
assume responsibility," adding that this was supported by NATO
secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Prosecutor General, Adriatik Llalla, declared that it is
indispensable to improve the investigation techniques in a time when war
against organized crime remains a challenge.

“Albania is now an open
country and the possibilities to penetrate the international criminal
element are great. On the other hand, the internal crime is present and
affects the opinion. We are witnessing how criminal elements are
challenging the state, and for this reason it is important to improve
and perfect the investigation techniques, which are exclusivity of the
justice structures. The other factors should not intervene”, Llalla
declared.

Lalla met with Sherfi Basiuni, one of the most
renowned Prosecutors in the world, also known as the “Godfather of
Laws”. Basiuni declared that making laws harsher doesn’t mean that
criminality rates will fall.

“Many Parliaments tend to make
harsher punishments, but this doesn’t affect criminality rates. What
needs to be emphasized is crime prevention by the police and the
authorities. It is important to study several cases of criminality and
see what measures should be taken”, declared prof.Basiuni.

Suspicions on child abuse

The
Prosecution leader confirmed that the Prosecution is investigating the
case of a child centre, where caretakers are accused of child abuse.

A
psychologist reported on Top Channel’s “Exclusive” that some of the
abused children are having their rents mysteriously paid, suspecting a
paedophilia network.

“We have discussed with Mr.Basiuni about
the further reforms we aim to bring to our institution. In such cases,
you and other media outlets have provided evidence or suspects for the
existence of criminal acts. The prosecution will start the
investigation, while others are under investigation too”, Llalla
underlined.

According to the testimonies, the abused children
were interviewed by the Prosecution by the lawyer of three foreign child
abusers on account of a Strasbourg court case.

Prosecutors say
that this practice is illegal and the lawyer has abused with its power.
They suspect that the children are having the rents of their houses paid
in exchange of silence.

While the EU is trying to keep Albania’s integration agenda alive, the
Albanian Delegation members of the Democratic Party boycotted the
European Parliament conference with Mr. Stefan Fule.

The reason of this boycott is
still unknown. The only Albanian delegate was the Foreign Relation
Secretary of the Socialist Movement for Integration, Ralf Gjoni.

Fule declared that he was visiting Tirana to have a different view of the integration processes.

The
Commissioner gave a wider panorama of the EU economic situation. During
the entire meeting, Fule never mentioned the three controversial
integration laws, but reiterated the June 23rd elections.

“Allow
me to reiterate that it is a responsibility of all political parties,
in government and opposition, to contribute so that the next elections
will reach democratic standards of a high level, in order to leave no
room for contestations. By securing high standards, Albania will send a
strong signal of maturity and dedication of the democratic values and
stability”, Fule declared.

During a conversation with the
present, it showed the approach of the European Commission with Albania
after the elections, when announcing the start of a high rank dialogue
between the government and the opposition after June 23rd. Eduard Kukan
reiterated the importance of an effective Parliament.

“A country
that cannot have a Parliament which is unable to play its role needs to
be replaced. You need a Parliament where politicians debate, the
government shows the actions that it takes and from which the Albanians
can make them accountable”, Kukan declared.

Ditmir Bushati,
chairman of the Parliamentary Integration Commission, declared that the
alarm bell as regards the status deadline is ringing, but no one is
hearing it.

“We are in the limits when we can give another
orientation to our country. This should be made tangible with the status
and membership dialogue. December must be the decisive month for the
position that the European institutions will take”, Bushati declared.

Fule
launched an interactive portal of the EU delegation in Tirana,
conceived as an opportunity to communicate with more Albanian citizens.

During
his stay in Tirana, Commissioner Fule preferred to meet only with the
Integration minister, Majlinda Bregu, and Ditmir Bushati.

PM receives new chief of EU mission in Kosovo

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian Prime Minister and Interior
Minister Ivica Dačić met on Monday with the new head of the EU mission
in Kosovo, EULEX, Bernd Borchardt.

(Tanjug)

According
to a government statement, Dačić during the meeting "insisted that
EULEX, together with KFOR and UNMIK, should secure full protection of
citizens in Kosovo and Metohija".
Dačić expressed his concern
over various forms of ethnic violence against Serbs and other members of
the non-Albanian communities in Kosovo, who are still prevented from
exercising basic rights and freedoms.

“The Serbian government
is ready for a coordinated cooperation with the EULEX mission, which is
due to be status-neutral and to secure safety and enforcement of rights
of all citizens in line with international acts and standards,” Dačić
said.

The Serbian prime minister noted that the international
missions UNMIK, KFOR and EULEX have a mandate under which they should
maintain stability in the territory of entire Kosovo and Metohija.

Serbia is ready to continue and promote the cooperation, particularly
at the operative level, in the fight against organized crime and
investigation of crimes and human organ trafficking, Dačić said.

"The truth should be determined professionally, particularly bearing in
mind the information on destruction of evidence which was disclosed in
the investigations to date, and therefore Serbia insists that the UN
should have an important role in these investigation procedures," the
prime minister underlined in the talks with the EULEX head

Greece continues to support Serbia on EU, Kosovo

Stoidis (R) is seen with Tomislav Nikolić on Monday in Belgrade (Tanjug)

According to a Tanjug report, the diplomat "underscored once again that the stand of Athens remains unchanged."
"We
firmly believe and that is not just a rhetoric, that Serbia deserved to
get a starting date for EU membership talks even last year," Stoidis
told theh news agency during a reception on the occasion of the Greek
national holiday - Independence Day.

That is the reason why
Greece plans to assist Serbia in its EU integration process once the
country assumes the EU presidency in the first half of 2014, Stoidis
said.

That is not just true for Greece, but also for the
country that will hold the EU Presidency after us, and that is Italy,
which has the similar stand toward Serbia's progress along the EU path,
Stoidis said.

"We are of the opinion that we have already done a
lot. It is on us to persuade other partners to show more optimism and
not attach new conditions (for EU entry) other than those that every
country has to fulfill," the Greek ambassador said.

He voiced confidence that 2014 would be the year of true progress for Serbia on its road to joining the EU bloc.

Asked whether Greece remains steadfast in its stand that it will not
recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, "following
Romania's announcements that it could review its position", Stoidis said
: “Greece's stand remains unchanged.“

Underscoring that he
could not speak about the intentions or plans of other countries,
Stoidis noted that Greece, as a regional country, would like to see, in
agreement with Serbia, better opportunities for all people in the region
to improve their everyday lives.

"If that means business
arrangements with Priština such were the ones in the past, that does not
mean that our country is changing its institutional position. Our stand
is well-known, firm and clear," the Greek ambassador concluded.

Entire arsenal discovered in Albanian cafe in center of Athens. Specifically in the area of ​​cell found grenades, explosive devices, drugs, and a revolver.

Specifically following information for drug trafficking and firearms from an albanian cafe owner, the police found him and watching the movements of the discovered where parking used as a warehouse for drugs and weapons. The 36 old year Albanian arrested along with one 31 old year accomplice and taken to the Prosecutor.

The arsenal in the Albanian cafe in conjunction with the recent attempted escape of prison root and unprecedented military-style business release Kalashnikov and hand grenades of 11 Albanian criminals from the prisons of Trikala gives new dimensions to the whole affair revealing that there is a major national security issue of our country . The escape from the prisons of Trikala may reveal new insights into the suspicious activity Albanian paramilitary groups in Greece. However, the mechanisms of the domestic system have imposed a general silence to resistances of Greek people and downgraded a matter which should have been closely monitored by the country.

Greek Media: Albanian paramilitaries of UCK, first officially operation in Greece"Military operation of the UCK" behind the escape of "11" in the prisons of Trikala!

Strong evidence that about 15 Albanians stormed the prison of Trikala and freed the eleven compatriots them (the three were arrested shortly after) were not ordinary criminals, but a group of highly trained military discipline said sources of the security authorities of the Greece.

Details mentioning that the attack were made by the Albanian paramilitary in Kosovo or Albanian of region of Tetovo in Skopje. The Greek criminal annalists, firstly simply believe that they were the first members of the armed UCK presence in Greece and especially against hardened targets and being armed guards with excellent results in terms of outcome.

Proper use of grenades and ammunition targeted coverage of Albanians fled, but the way they went their tracks, trapping the car that transported them with grenades shows excellent military training of Albanian paramilitary unit UCK.

Naturally impresses the way out and that seemed very confident in their moves on the way to the prisons of Trikala and while carrying all this arsenal.

The way they acted in the group of 15 individuals who challenged the guard outside the prison in Trikala was impeccably organized and designed with military consequence for the arrest and execution. Used four points approach

A Calm battled for 45 minutes with guards outside outposts until the escape of elements authorities concede that service coverage and the second group developed the roads leading to the prison in order to cut out if needed!

Police authorities continued with a manhunt in order to track down eight
inmates who escaped from the Trikala prison last week in a heated
shootout that sent two prison guards
to the hospital (one in very critical condition). Two of the 11
escapees were apprehended by police on Saturday and a third on Sunday,
and a remaining eight still remain at large.

In such a framework, authorities have set up road blocks to all road accesses leading to the Greek-Albanian border, while patrols were also scouring the surrounding mountains where passage routes to the neighboring country abound. Police have trained police dogs with them, while thermal cameras are also being used at night.

Four of the escapees had been trapped by police in the vicinity of the
jail, while the two that were arrested on Saturday are Albanian
nationals aged 27 and 30.

According to reports, the escape was staged with help from unknown persons who were stationed in two cars outside of the prison
and who began to fire at the guards as a diversionary tactic while the
eleven men climbed out with ropes, hooks and self-made ladders.

According to a Justice Ministry announcement, the escape was "unprecedented and planned like a military operation,
using Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades," and apparently it occurred
at a time while the convicts had not returned to their cells yet.

The ministry noted that:

"Unknown persons, split into two groups, with two vehicles and heavy arms, opened fire at the guards (from) outside (of the prison) and of the vehicle used by the jail patrol which was parked outside the jail and was caught in the cross-fire."
An additional two police cars, one in motion and the other parked, were also attacked.
"During the fire exchange that lasted over half an hour and turned
the area into a battlefield two guards outside were injured in the
abdomen, one of them seriously. It was determined that 11 foreign
nationals convicted over robberies and thefts managed to escape from the
G2 jail wing after taking advantage of the armed clash of outsiders
with the forces there."

The jail is surrounded by swat teams and the searches have so far not
turned up additional firearms or shells that would confirm the use of
firearms by convicts inside the jail during the escape attempt, the ministry added.

Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis who rushed to Trikala and
apparently visited the injured guards at the town's main Hospital on
Saturday afternoon, accompanied by deputy minister Costas Karagounis and
the ministry secretary general. Later on he went to the prison where he was briefed on the circumstances surrounding the attack on the prison guards and jailbreak.

Following this he said that a "perfectly organized plan" had been
executed, during which hundreds of gunshots were fired and hand grenades
thrown, of which five exploded, seriously injuring two members of the prison outside guards, while also immobilizing the police car and guards' car stationed at the facility.

The Minister revealed that it was an unprecedented operation, and stressed that:

"up to know we were discussing how to prevent someone escaping from
inside, since that is where the danger existed ... Now we have to
redesign the guarding of the prisons, because as it seems, with the form
that organized crime has taken, then there is a threat of interventions
from the outside to help those on the inside (escape)".

Following Friday's prison break, law enforcement authorities believe
that notorious mafia boss Panagiotis Vlastos was preparing a new attempt
to break out of the Trikala incarceration facility, after an attempted
prison break by the notorious inmate by helicopter was foiled by
authorities a month ago. In fact police press spokesman Christos
Parthenis said on Saturday that after the escape of the 11 inmates a search was conducted of Vlastos' cell, and it turned up five blades, four saws and two knives.

Cyprus accepts new package, will stay in Eurozone

BRUSSELS -- Eurozone finance ministers and Cypriot
authorities reached an agreement early on Monday on a package of aid for
Cyprus.

Employees of banks protest in Cyprus over the weekend (Beta/AP)

The deal came after a dramatic Brussels meeting that was repeatedly delayed.
Cypriot
President Nicos Anastasiades accepted an EUR 10 billion aid package
from the European Central Bank, provided that the Cyprus restructures
its two largest banks, while the accounts of those who have more than
100,000 euros deposited will suffer the most.

During a dramatic
meeting of the Ministerial Council that ended a little after two in the
morning, Anastasiades, according to the reports of several news
agencies, several times threatened to resign rather than agree to
measures that would jeopardize the status of Cyprus as a tax haven and
offshore zone, mainly for Russian clients .

Faced with the
threat of Cyprus being expelled from the eurozone as early as on Monday
or Tuesday, the Cypriot president agreed to the conditions set by the
so-called troika, consisting of the ministers set the Eurogroup, the
European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Banks closed in Cyprus last week, while ATM withdrawals were limited to
100 euros a day after a panic caused by the announcement that the
government, at the request of the troika, would remove tax accounts of
all depositors, including those with less than 100,000 euros.

The Cypriot parliament then rejected the measures and asked for Russian
financial assistance to its indebted banks, but Russia refused to
intervene on the grounds that the issue should be resolved within the
EU.

Cyprus then had no choice but to accept the new proposal from the troika.

The Cypriot parliament has yet to accept the new package.

In the EU, there is fear that Russia, whose citizens and companies with
property in Cyprus will be most affected, could recover the damages by
confiscating assets of European companies operating on Russian soil.

It is estimated that there is about EUR 20 billion of Russian money in
Cyprus, of which about a quarter will be confiscated when the new
package takes effect.

Cypriot banks found themselves in trouble
after investing a large portion of their funds in the purchase of Greek
bonds, which proved to be worthless.

Macedonians vote in local elections

SKOPJE -- Voters in Macedonia are casting ballots in
local elections on Sunday. There are no major problems so far,
authorities have released.

(Beta/AP, file)

The voter turnout was around ten percent until 10:00 CET.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 and voters will be able to cast their votes until 19:00 CET.

The State Electoral Commission has stated that more than 8,500
candidates are running in the elections. 350 of them are running for
mayors.

The voting started on Saturday when the sick and disabled and prisoners were able to vote.

Tensions are high in the town of Kičevo. According to the new
territorial division, the town has the higher number of ethnic Albanian
population thanks to surrounding villages and Macedonian political
parties fear that Kičevo could for the first time get an Albanian mayor.

Numerous citizens living abroad, mostly ethnic Albanians from Switzerland, have come to Kičevo in order to vote.

Only several polling stations were not open this morning due to bad
weather and inadequate number of ballots, the Electoral Commission told a
press conference.

A total of 8,379 local and 410 foreign observers are monitoring the elections in Macedonia.

Turkey badly needed to end row with Israel. Netanyahu’s apology gave Obama a diplomatic breakthrough

DEBKAfileExclusive ReportMarch 23, 2013

A Turkish drone in need of Israeli technology

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu granted the Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan a face-saver for ending their three-year rift
out of willingness to crown US President Barack Obama’s three-day visit
with an impressive diplomatic breakthrough. He swallowed Israel and its
army’s pride and, at the airport, with Obama looking on, picked up the
phone to Erdogan and apologized for the killing by Israeli soldiers of
nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists in 2010 aboard the Mavi Marmara,
which was leading a flotilla bound on busting the Israeli blockade of
the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
The crowing comment by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu -
“Turkey’s basic demands have been met; we got what we wanted” – was out
of place, spiteful and ill-mannered.
He knows perfectly well that for the past year, amid a constant stream
of ranting abuse from Ankara, Israel has been quietly responding to
Turkey’s desperate need for cooperation in four essential fields, which
are disclosed here by debkafile:

1. The Turkish armed forces are heavily dependent on Israeli military
technologies from the long years of the close alliance between the two
countries, which Ankara cut short. This dependence applies most
particularly to its drones, the backbone of today’s modern armies. It is
also holding up the huge transaction for the sale of American Boeing
Awacs electronic warning airplanes to Turkey.
Boeing was unable to deliver the aircraft without Jerusalem’s consent,
because a key component, the early warning systems, is designed in
Israel. This consent has been withheld in the face of Turkey’s urgent
need and the US aviation firm’s impatience to consummate the deal.
Turkey is in need of those planes - not just to monitor events in
neighboring wartorn Syria, but to complete its air defense lineup
against Iranian ballistic missiles. Without the AWACs, the advanced
FBX-radar system the US has stationed at the Turkish Kurecik air base is
only partly operational. The Kurecik battery is linked to its
equivalent at a US base in the Israeli Negev, a fact which Ankara
chooses to conceal.
2. In view of the turmoil in Syria, the bulk of Turkey’s exports
destined for the Persian Gulf and points farther east have been diverted
to the Israeli ports of Haifa and Ashdod, whereas just a year ago, they
went through Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Since no end is seen to the Syrian conflict and the closure of the
Turkish-Syrian border, more and more export traffic from Turkey is
making its way through Haifa port and thence by rail across Israel to
Jordan. Turkish goods bound for destinations in Europe and the US are
diverted to Israeli ports too as Egyptian ports are made increasingly
dysfunctional by that country’s economic crisis..
3. In the first year of the Syrian uprising, when Davutoglu was still a
frequent traveler to Damascus for talks with Bashar Assad, Ankara
entertained high hopes of becoming a major player for resolving the
Syrian debacle. But he also sought to strike a deal with the Lebanese
Hizballah, Assad’s ally, for obstructing Israeli gas and oil exploration
in the eastern Mediterranean

Three years on, Turkish leaders have woken up to the realization that
they had better hurry up and jump aboard the US-backed Israeli energy
bandwagon or else they will miss out on an outstanding and lucrative
economic development, namely, the forthcoming opening up of a
Mediterranean gas exporting route to Europe.
4. Turkey, Israel and Jordan are all in the same boat as targets for
the approaching large-scale use of Syria’s chemical and biological
weapons.
This topic was high on the agenda of President Obama’s talks with
Jordan’s King Hussein Friday, March 21, in Amman, after he had explored
the subject with Israel’s prime minister in Jerusalem.
Obama presented them with his plan to consolidate into a single US-led
Turkish-Israeli-Jordan HQ the separate commands established six months
ago in each of those countries to combat the use of unconventional
weapons.
This unified command would stand ready to launch units of the four
armies into coordinated land and air action inside Syria upon a signal
from Washington.

The US president used his visits to Jerusalem and Amman to tie up the
ends of this contingency plan with Netanyahu and Abdullah, while
Secretary of State John Kerry got together with Erdogan in Ankara.
However, this four-way military effort to combat the Syrian chemical
threat could not have taken off with Ankara and Jerusalem not on
speaking terms.
This had been going on for three years, ever since Erdogan suspended
military ties with Israel and downgraded diplomatic relations pending an
Israeli apology for the Marmara incident, compensation for the victims
and the lifting of its naval blockade on Gaza.
The Turkish prime minister insisted on the Israeli prime minister
paying obeisance to Turkish national honor. And finally Netanyahu
relented. But Israel stood its ground on the last condition; a UN probe
had pronounced the Israeli blockade legal and legitimate although its
raid on the Turkish ship was deemed “excessive.” So the blockade remains
in place and, indeed, Friday, March 23, Israel’s new defense minister,
Moshe Yaalon, tightened it by restricting the Gaza offshore areas open
to Palestinian Mediterranean fishermen.

This was punishment for the four-rocket attack staged from Gaza on the
Israeli town of Sderot Thursday, the second day of President Obama’s
visit to Israel.debkafile’s
military sources comment that the new defense minister may have also
been directing a reproach at the prime minister for apologizing to
Turkey and admitting to “operational errors,” thereby casting aspersions
on the professionalism of the Israel Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit
and its legitimate action in defense of Israel’s legal Gaza blockade.

MPs approve vital measures to keep Cyprus afloat

NICOSIA -- Cypriot MPs have voted to create a
“national solidarity fund”, to restructure banks and give the government
power to impose controls to prevent a bank run.

(Beta/AP)

The late night emergency session approved the measures in a dramatic bid to avoid an imminent financial meltdown.
The lawmakers are working to a Monday deadline.

“At this difficult time there are no easy solutions of course, there
are no painless solutions. At this moment of a call to arms, the
Socialist Party will play its role,” rallied Socialist Party member
Nikos Nikolaou.

While the voting was going on protesters called for the EU-led troika of international lenders to get out of Cyprus.

The island has been told to raise nearly EUR 6bn to qualify for a EUR 10bn bailout.

The one measure which triggered the crisis – the rejection of a
controversial tax on bank savings – could be back on table in a modified
form this weekend.

The Panepirotic Federation of America vehemently condemns the brutal destruction by Albanian authorities on August 26 of a Greek Orthodox Church in the Chimara region of the former Communist nation that once prohibited all forms of religious worship. The Church of St. Athanasius in the town of Drymades, known in Albanian as Dhermi, was completely destroyed by government agents acting on the authority of Albania’s Interior Ministry.

Petitioning European Council

The land in Himara belongs to the people of Himara! Land and property registration NOW! Signe now this petition to the European Councile, for the registration of properties to the only and single eligible owner: the PEOPLE of Himara.

Himara Community of USA, Addresses Himarra Property Issues with US State Department / Ambassador

The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to inform you of issues affecting United States citizens who have vested interests in the municipality of Himarra, Albania, and to express our concern about their long outstanding and unresolved problems regarding property rights. Over 1500 US citizens of Himarrioton descent are disenfranchised of their rights to the ownership of their family properties which were confiscated in 1945 by the communist regime. They have been attempting to claim their family properties since the end of the communist period without success due to the laws and policies of the Albanian government which a) fail to address ownership rights of pre-1945 landowners, b) fail to address the rights of owners who were forced to emigrate to the United States for economic or political reasons, and c) fail to address the rights of those with dual citizenship who have attempted to claim their properties as Albanian citizens.

Opinion - Kisha Autoqefale dhe Greqia! (14 tetor 2013)

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Officially: Omonoia, In Albania over 300.000 Greeks declared

30 % or 86,000, are declared electronically and this process includes 85 % of the members of the Greek minority Vlora Prefecture is the mostly populated by Greeks, there are about 90. 000 Greeks. TIRANA - Democratic Union of the Greek Ethnic Minority, Omonoia publishes the results of the census of members of the Ethnic Greek Community, organized by it structures. The Prime Census, was the decision of the General Council of the organization as members argued for exclusion of the Greek minority in the months Census October 2011, organized by the Institute of Statistics .

The history of elections of the Albanian dictator, to terrorize the people of Himara

A special Edition by SManalysis December 2, 1945: The Himariotes, abstaining from communist referendum, as happens usually for Himara the Albanian historians, never wrote this tragic history. Nikos Koutoulas, who boldly told the special communist court: "I'm Greek . I do not know Albanian, get me a interpret!" Still now, Albania never hold free politic elections, including Himara Municipality

Albanian Writer Raises Storm in Kosovo

Kosovo officials have rounded on Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja for saying that the political elites in both countries turned a blind eye to the crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA. Besar Likmeta BIRN Tirana Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja In the article published in the May edition of the magazine Sudosteuropa, Lubonja focused on the reaction of Albania’s political class to the acquittal of the former KLA commander and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj by the Hague Tribunal. Lubonja wrote that following Haradinaj’s release, the elite in Pristina and Tirana celebrated him as a hero, despite having enough information that the charges brought by prosecutors in the Hague were correct.

As long as human rights and civil liberties are violated in Himara Region primarily property, Greec

Himara Associations: Athens to block the status of Albania, if Tirana, does not solve the property issue Two associations based in Himara, "The Himara Community" and "Sea Coastal Association" have asked in a statement distributed to the media this afternoon that Greece "should block the candidate status for Albania" if Tirana, will not solve the problems of Human Rights and particularly the issue of the properties in Himara Region. The statement takes into consideration the visit Tirana following day of E.Venizelos the Greek Deputy Prime Minister also heads the Presidency of the European :

Albania minorities object to territorial division

Albania's civil society is calling on officials to diffuse tensions and protect minorities from discrimination and potential violence as a result of the decision to scrap the existing municipalities and create a new territorial administration. The government reduced the 384 local government units to 65, effectively creating entirely Albanian-majority municipalities. Greek, Macedonian and other minority representatives said the government's move violates their rights and international norms.

Poll: Albania, the most racist country in Europe

An international survey data from the World Value Survey collected and processed by the Washington Post reveals that Albania is the most racist country in Europe and worldwide more racists. The survey attempts to make a connection between economic development and being tolerant inside a society with ethnic crashes.. Thus, the most tolerant countries in the world are the Nordic countries, Great Britain and some of its former colonies, the United States, Canada and Australia. Countries with high tolerance are also in Latin America, where Venezuela exception.

Fatos Lobonja: Albania needs formatting not to rebirth

Fatos Lobonja, in an interview for the program "PULS" the KohaVision in Kosovo, there appeared criticism of developments in Albania. According Lubonja Albanians as a society still can not be consolidated. The reasons, according to him, are corrupt Albanian political elites on all sides, inside and abroad. He said they did not thirst for power leaves organize and move forward. Edi Rama's arrival at the head of government, according Lubonja, will not change the image of Albania, because Rama is associated with the oligarchs and organized crime. " He should answer that elite and non-citizens of Albania ", Lobonja estimates.

Nicholas Gage: Athens to give soon the Greek citizenship for thousand north epiriotes

World Council delegation of Epirus Abroad, meeting with the Ministry of Interior for the vote of northern epiriotes and the resolve the pension problem The visit of Nicholas Gage, is considering as the latest diplomatic effort of USA lobbing, for implementation of the "Protocol of Corfu" agreement, between Albania and Greece, based on the ulterior escalation in Balkan region. The Delegation of the World Council of Foreign Relation of Epirus (PSIE) headed by the Honorary President Nicolas Gkatzogianni, had a working meeting with the Greek Interior minister Stylianidis and v/ minister Syrigos.

Himariotes, lobbying in USA, for Autonomy

A group of people of Himara, with American citizenship, are lobbying to the US Congress and the State Department, that the Himara Region, receive the right for autonomy, according to international historical right to his self-determination. Proposed to merge all associations operating in USA, Greece and Albania, to be united in a single purpose: Autonomous Himara, Movements in the Balkans geopolitical, Mitrovica case, cutting pension from Greece, scarce public investment, robbery and illegal registration of property, etc., have raised a great concern, as never in the recent relationship of Himara, Albanian and Greek state relationship.

Pyrros Dimas, meeting with the Greek Minister of Labour, for problem of pensions to the Northern Ep

- Initiative of MP of PASOK, Pyrros Dimas for preparing and drafting a legislative proposal in collaboration with representatives of the Northern Epirus organizations. - The Minister agreed on the need to find a solution and urged the Member to develop concrete proposals, and that after consultation with the Secretary of the New Republic, Manolis Kefaloyiannis will be submitted jointly to the Minister of Finance.

"Kakome Case" again to the Albanian Tribunals

The Greek Community continues to "constant war" with the Albanian government to protect property. The apathy of Athens, to respond to the robbery of the properties in just the time, that OSCE, under the process of the registration of property in Ionian Coast, from European taxpayers, without any trasparence, is favoring according to Albanian law, alienation of property, of the Greek community , with the false documents.

Berisha: albanophobia threatens inter region

Berisha: "We must accept that they are the only people who live in 5 states. A nation that is unjustly divided into 5 states, a nation that wants to look to a common future. But again albanophobia is still in action " Albanian Prime Minister for the second time, threatening Greece, claiming that Albanians in Greece, should join the Albanian state.

NORTHERN EPIRUS THROUGH THE CENTURIES(LECTURE OF VASILIOS KYRANIS, Harvard University -1981) AL

Christos Pappas, in an interview with Arthur Zhei, News 24 TV

Pappas: "Northern Epirus is a region that holds arbitrary from Albania, as recognized by the great powers, the Protocol of Corfu. The Law of War against Albania, can not remove from Papoulias nor Greek parliament, but the Greek army is ready to liberate the Northern Epirus, again

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After a life threatening message to Archbishop Janullatos

42 Orthodox clergy against census and Red & Black Alliance: Janullatos has not afraid of death 42 Tirana archdiocese Orthodox clergy have reacted with a joint statement in defense of Anastasios Yannoulatos. Their attitude comes after strong reactions against the Red & Black Alliance, for Archbishop and after a census that sees Orthodox in third place in terms of religion in the country.

Albania: 100 years, Berisha plays 'great Albania' trump card

In Tirana Albanian leaders, tensions with Macedonia 28 November, 10:49 (ANSAmed) - TIRANA, NOVEMBER 28 - Albania's black and red national flag with a double-headed eagle is waving across the country which is celebrating today its 100th anniversary of independence in a tense political climate. The centre-right Premier Sali Berisha has been calling for days for an ethnic-national unification of all Albanians living in different Balkan states, in efforts to revive a strong nationalism which is rejected by Albania's opposition.

The Official Site of The Himara Community

CONTINUES THE DEBATE IN WASHINGTON D.C. FOR THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM NORTHERN

According to the Greek organisation of Albania estimates there are thousands of Greek American citizens from Northern Epirus (Southern Albania) which is refering the Journalist Lambros Papantoniou, asking the Spokesman of State Department for the rights of American citizens with Greek origin to take their properties in Southern Albania. Papantoniou is refereeing a Memo between Albanian State and USA about the civil rights especially for the properties of American citizens who are interested to take them according to Albanian Constitution and laws the properties of family generation. This is the second debate of the veteran Journalist for Balkan Issues in State Department Lambros Papantoiou who accuses over all the Sali Berisha Regim in Albania supported by the President Bush.

A Response to AFP

SManalysis Orthodox churches of Albania, are Byzantine churches, belong to the property of the population of Epirus.....

Avramopoulos`s speach during NATO meeting

Greece threatens Albania blocking the integration process after Berisha's statements Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, has expressed his concern at the NATO ministerial meeting about rising tide of nationalism in Albania and premature declarations of the government. In a press release the Greek Foreign Ministry said that "the growth of nationalism and populism in some of our neighboring countries is a source of great concern."

The U.S. talk of "change of borders in the Balkans"

Message-warning sent to Albania by the U.S. representative to the State Department, which in a statement said that any change of borders in the Balkans "would be counterproductive and destabilizing," but the issue is that for the first time put the U.S. even and negative mood on any change of borders in the Balkans ...

INUK në Vlorë, pronarët: Me dokumenta të rregullta dhe leje ndërtimi

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GREEK NEWS FROM NIKO`S BLOG

PREMIUM, THE GREEK TRASFORMATION

The "Kissinger Plan": Confederations Macedonia, Epirus, Thrache,

THE BIG CHANGE IN PERIVOLO, DRYMADES, HIMARA REGION

Dhermi, (Drymades, Himara Region) between natural beauty and destruction Look at those videos, before in 2010, everything natural and in 2012 the differences, the big changes how are divided Mafia plots, see whose investments are shown, with the camera of a sportsman parachute, in Long Beach "Perivolo" in Dhrymades, the Himara Region. Look at how this summer 2012, the Concessions of Mafia provided by The Himara Counsil Municipality and the Government of Albania, have become a reality. The Sand Beach Drymades, is transformed in the sidewalks and kiosks. See how they are transformed Dhermi, in a few years, in an administrative center, disrupting also balance the religious and ethnic composition of himariotes.

Robert Elsie: If I would live in Albania, it would be crazy. It is the same as in Ottoman times

After known albanolog Milan Shufla, Robert Elsie is the best conteproranean albanian albanolog in the World During his intereweu on "Top Channely TV, Robert Elsie, on his first interview on TV. expresed his story about Albanian and Albanian state in 100 years. An interesting tale scholar known for his work difficulties in view of the Albanian language. Elsie, who knows Albanians for years, amounts to a chilling conclusion. He says he will not ever live in Albania, as it will go mad. "I can not live here. It's a little wild for me, the relationships between people are a bit wild. I know that is just a facade that inside have good spirit, but have a rabies in human relations. You know how to protect yourself here, and here I am like a rabbit, he can not defend myself. I come here with pleasure, but do not believe they can afford to come and live here forever. There is much frustration of everyday life. Life is too short and I do not have time to bump into obstacles, only to achieve something, when in another country and get away and then live my life, "said Elsie to Albanian. And while Enver Hoxha's Albania as compared with that of Sali Berisha, adds: "There is something that depends only on the party, it's more the attitude of the people. So to get something going, you have to know someone in the Ministry, to drink coffee with, then drink coffee again next week with even a third time, and then he connects with the person that you are interested . That is the same as in Ottoman times, not like a normal country. ".

Separatists gaining ground in Europe

Greece, is going to Plan B: grant for 600 thousand Greek citizenship, at the Consulates

Failure of the Census in Albania, apparently, has forced Athens, put in place, going to Plan B to its foreign policy, grant citizenship to all Hellenic Community of Northern Epirus (Greek passports) through three Greek consulates in Albania. According to “The Albanian newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare”, in a statement issued by the Greek Consul in Argjirokaster, Nikolaos Kotroxois, will begin soon, giving the Greek passports to Albanian citizens of Greek descent, who have applied for years. The decision is taken, after Athens, has used all diplomatic sources to have to Tirana, the same wavelength, particularly in geopolitical matters, particularly Kosovo. In his statement, the Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas, noted, that Tirana, continues to show towards Greece, feeling not sincere cooperation, while simultaneously calling for the right to self-determination of the Greek community in Albania.

BERISHA: GREATER ALBANIA, WE LOST TERRITORIES

he Albanian Prime Minister held a meeting with Prishtina University students, in which he argued why he is against the unification of Albania with Kosovo and why both countries would lose, if borders would be changed. “The vital interest of the Albanians is to preserve the current borders, and the Albanians should not accept, at any cost, to lose a single square meter of the land they are entitled to. Another redraw of the borders would mark undeserved losses of the Albanian territories. We must be patient, free, and should not undertake any action that threatens territorial losses. Every generation has to make its duty, and this generation made it”, Berisha declared.

Dimas:"The Greek ethnic Community in Albania has the right of free of charge self-determination"

The reliability of the results of population census in Albania, in terms of minority groups, directly challenging the foreign minister Stavros Dimas, diaminyontas same time that the Respect for human and minority rights is … crucial criterion for the progress of the accession method of our neighbor. In a letter sent to the Home in response to a question from a Member of LA.OS K. Aivaliotis, Dimas says that “the foreign ministry has closely followed all the developments surrounding the census in Albania, even though produced timely plays, both bilateral and European level to make sure the integrity process and unimpeded registration of members of the Greek National Minority, and each location of residence of such ». As outlined, the “Selection of the representatives of the main minority groups, including the Greek National Minority, invite their members to abstain in protest not guaranteed to respect the right of free of charge self-determination, showed a significant deficit of trust minority in the Albanian state, which ought to itself the Albanian government to address priority ».

The Constitutional Court Decision on December 1, the Latter abolished the term Ethnic certificate of Its Citizens. In the Decision, panels argues why the notion of "nationality" is incompatible with the constitution When Its state charter law does not provid a clear definition of Its meaning. In Assessing the Court, "nationality" as defined concept without, unlike Other components of civil law does not Create a link that 'translates the Mutual rights and duties of Natural Persons and state.

While the total population in Himara Municipality, does not exceed 12 thousand inhabitants, a source from the prosecution of Vlora, shows that the problems of ownership at the squirrels region have reached the 7500 court proceedings and special investigations, which marks a world record, by how a country like Albania, could not manage the right of ownership, in one of the areas attacked by the Albanian mafia and international. However, the U.S. Department Report for 2004 on human rights in Albania, states clearly that in the Himara Municipality, the community lands and the Orthodox Church, was robbed by a Courts with false documents, supported by the Office of Propetry Registration in Albania.

Arben Puto: Albania has declared war against Greece first

In his book "The Italian Greek War", Arben Puto, well known historian of the era of dictatorship in Albania, writes that: "In a unanimous decision of the Albanian Parliament on July 15, 1940, was ratified, the Italian Fascist royal decree, which declared all war allies France and Britain, including the USA and Greece. So need to Albanians, to be aware that Greece was not declared war Albania, but Albania, with military battalions that attacked Greece on 28 October 1940 ".

WB returns to Ionian Riviera residence reconstruction

Another World Bank project is being executed with the help of the Albanian authorities for the reconstruction of the residences in Albania’s southern coastline. The 625.000 USD project aims to protect and promote the values of the Albanian national architecture in the Southern part of the country, in order to prevent destruction and abandonment of the traditional houses. “Shqip” newspapers says that the Ministry of Public Works is the WB partner in the “Roofs and Facades” project. The implementation of the program has started in the villages classified as participators: Dhermi i Vjeter, Qeparo i Vjeter, Ilias, Vuno, Himare e Vjeter, Piqeras, Nivice and Luksht. The World Bank will finance 70% of the restauration cost, with a maximum of 7000 USD, while the program “Accommodation and Breakfast” will finance 50 of the restoration cost, with a maximum of 5,000 USD. The program “Roofs and Facades” aims to restore 72 houses in 18 months. 20 of them will adopt with the conditions of modern life, in the framework of the program “Accommodation and Breakfast”.

In Albania, at 20 years post-dictatorship, 8 thousands murders, for the issue of property

The shocking data, are given by the Prosecutor General, to the Albanian press Shocking facts which, in the wake of Albania rank Civil War, the high level of killings, including the year 1997 Through the Albanian press, Attorney General, has published shocking facts about the increasing number of murders in Albania, especially for issues of ownership. Clic on photo ....

Himara 26 centuries, a history of glorious Independence

HIMARA, THE NEXT MONTE CARLO`S IN EPIRUS

First step to Greater Albania: Kosovo Opens First Highway Section

A 38 kilometre-tranche of the road, which will eventually cross the country from the Albanian to Serbian border, was opened on Saturday. The first section, which runs from Vermica on the Albanian border to close to the town of Suhareka, cost 330 million euro. Senior Kosovo and Albania government officials were present at the inauguration ceremony. In a speech, Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga said that the "highway has the role of linking nations and countries". "It is our link with important European corridors. Our coordinated policy will make us a free and equal members of the European Union," she added. Named the "Ibrahim Rugova Highway", after Kosovo's most famous president, the road connects with Albania's first highway, which was also built by the Turkish-American consortium Bechtel-Enka.

George Goro: Registration of properties on the southern coast of Albania faces difficulties

The process of registration of property in southern coastal areas of Albania is getting quite difficult. Mayor George Himara Goro says it has so far only completed the registration of houses and land but not land. Problems with documentation and the implementation of the Land Law difficult, according to him, residents in this process.

The Monument of Independence of Albania, is in hassle

PDIU Cam Community Party, the Socialist Party's local leader in Vlora, and "Red & Black Alliance", are making a nationalistic competition, the Monument of Independence and the Albanian national flag. Few days ago, Prime Minister Sali Berisha, said the establishment of a new monument to the independence of Albania in Tirana, implying, dismiss the historical tradition of Albanian independence in Vlora.

Himarrioton Society of America

The Himarriotans of America, motivated by the love of Himarra, the land of their native origin, and dedicated to the noblest ideals of their forfathers, have established this organization which aspires to the cultivation and preservation of Himarriotic culture in America, to making a positive difference in the lives of its members, and to promoting the rights and interests of the Himarriotans in Himarra, through the realization of patriotic, charitable, philanthropic, educational and cultural endeavors.

Opinion in Kosovo: "Socialists in Albania, are filo Greek"

The Chairman of the Opposition in Albania, Edi Rama, accused by the press in Kosovo that "he is with filo Greek sentiments" If, Sali Berisha, Albania's current prime minister, is expected both in Macedonia and Kosovo, as president of the Albanian nation, this has not happened with the chairman of the opposition in Albania, Edi Rama. During a recent visit to Kosovo, Edi Rama is unpopular, the fact that the perception of public opinion in Kosovo, is that the south, is the area close to Greece, but especially Rama and the Socialist Party, was accused of holding a position filo Greek, against the interests of Greater Albania.